Computer Help

Faculty and Staff

Change Your Password

Follow these instructions to change your password for different operating systems. We require that users
change their password once each year. Passwords must be 8 characters in length or longer.

Changing Your Password in Windows

While logged into your account, press Control+Alt+Delete and select Change Password...
This will change your password for all Department Windows computers as well as other resources
such as email and remote file and server access.

Changing Your Password in Linux

Depending how the system is set up, how to change passwords in Linux can vary. Please
read all the examples below before changing a password.

Access to Department Resources

If a Linux user is using programs such as Samba or WebDAV to mount the department P-Drive, the
easiest way to change the password is to
log onto the remote server or log into a N212 or N337 computer and follow the instructions
for changing a password on Windows.

Astronomy Computers

In a terminal enter: yppasswd and follow the instructions. DO NOT use the
passwd command on the Astronomy workstations.

Personal Computers

In a terminal enter: passwd and follow the instructions.

Changing your Password for Macintosh

If a Macintosh user is using programs such as Samba or WebDAV to mount the department P-Drive, the
easiest way to change the password is to
log onto the remote server or log into a N212 or N337 computer and follow the instructions
for changing a password on Windows.